The invention concerns a harvester header, for mowing stalk-like crop, equipped with several intake and mowing drums arranged in side-by-side relationship to each other across the width of the header, of which, an inner pair of intake and mowing drums is driven for moving cut crop first inward and then to the rear, and a second pair of intake and mowing drums respectively adjoining the inner pair are driven for moving cut crop first outward and then to the rear. A channel for the crop harvested by the inner and second pairs of intake and mowing drums is conveyed to an intake channel containing feed rolls for delivering the crop to a chopper drum of the harvester. A deflecting conveying unit with an axis of rotation inclined slightly forward bridges the vertical distance between the operating plane of the intake and mowing drums and the plane of the intake channel of the header.
DE 39 09 754 A describes a harvesting implement for the harvesting of cereal forage in which four rotating cutting disks are arranged in side-by-side relationship to each other. The cut crop is taken over at their rear sides by a transverse screw conveyor. Each of the cutting disks rotates in the same direction on both sides of the longitudinal center plane so that the crop is conveyed at first outward and then to the rear.
DE 199 53 521 A shows a cutting and conveying arrangement for stalk-like cereal crop that is provided with four cutting and conveying rotors arranged in side-by-side relationship to each other. The crop taken up by the cutting and conveying rotors is extracted by rotating clean-out devices from the pocket-shaped recesses of the cutting and conveying rotors. A transverse screw conveyor transports the crop to the center of the machine from which it is conducted to a chopper drum of a forage harvester. Intermediate conveying rotors are arranged between the outer cutting and conveying rotors and the transverse screw conveyor, whose enveloping circle overlaps the enveloping circle of the rotating clean-out devices.
EP 0 508 189 A describes a machine for the mowing of corn in which two intake and mowing drums are arranged on each side of the center plane. The inner intake and mowing drums rotate in such a way that the crop is first conveyed outward and then to the rear. Here the outer intake and mowing drums rotate in the opposite direction.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,722,225 discloses a header for the mowing of stalk-like harvested crop in which several intake and mowing drums are distributed over the operating width. The crop is transported inward on the rear side of the intake and mowing drums along the rear wall. Except for the outer intake and mowing drums, each of the intake and mowing drums on both sides of the longitudinal center plane rotate in the same direction so that the crop is conveyed first toward the outside and then to the rear. This direction of rotation permits the use of transverse conveying drums in the valley region of adjacent intake and mowing drums. Here, each of the outermost intake and mowing drums rotates in the opposite direction: with these, the crop is conveyed first in the inward direction and then to the rear. The harvested crop is conducted by transverse conveying drums to the inner intake and mowing drums from the intake and mowing drums arranged further outward. They transfer this crop, to which the crop harvested by themselves is added, to the slope conveyor drums that convey it upward and to the rear into the intake channel of the forage harvester. In the region behind the inner intake and mowing drums, problems in the conveying may arise.
The intake and mowing drums of EP 1 008 291 A rotate in the same direction as those in U.S. Pat. No. 5,722,225. However, the transverse conveying is accomplished behind the intake and mowing drums by an independent transverse conveyor that is separated from the intake and mowing drums.
Finally, FIG. 10 of GB 2 012 154 A, regarded as establishing the class, shows a corn harvesting machine in which two intake drums are arranged on each side of the longitudinal center plane. The outer intake drums rotate toward the inside. At their rear sides, the crop is conveyed by a belt conveyor inward towards the center of the machine and then deflected into the inlet channel of a chopper. The belt conveyor also conveys the material taken up by the inner intake drum in the inward direction. Thereby, the material is deflected from its original flow direction to the rear due to the take-over by the belt conveyor, and it is deflected first inward and then into the intake channel. Furthermore, the belt conveyor must absorb, as a transverse conveyor, the flow of crop from both intake drums.
The machine disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,722,225 has the advantage of a short configuration due to the fact that the transverse conveying drums interact with the intake and mowing drums so that the forage harvester that carries it need absorb only a relatively small amount of torque. The machines, according to DE 39 09 754 A, DE 199 53 521 A, EP 1 008 291 A and GB 2 012 154 A, are considerably longer due to the transverse conveyor that operates independently of the intake and mowing drums and apply a greater load to the forage harvester. The configuration according to EP 0 508 189 A is appropriate to only a limited degree for operating widths that can be attained by the aforementioned machines.
The problem underlying the invention is seen in the need to improve the flow of the crop in a compact machine for the mowing of stalk-like crop.
According to the present invention, there is provided a crop harvester header equipped with a plurality of intake and mowing drums mounted in side-by-side relationship to each other across the width of the header, with there being a crop conveying channel located downstream of, and at an approximate straight line to, an inner pair of intake and mowing drums located on opposite sides of a longitudinal center plane of the header so that crop harvested by the inner pair of intake and mowing drums can be conveyed generally without any deflection through the channel.
The invention concerns a header, as described in the immediately preceding paragraph, which operates such that the second intake and mowing drum is brought into rotation in such a way that its side preceding in the direction of operation moves to the outside. The harvested crop is thereby conveyed by the second intake and mowing arrangement first to the outside and then to the rear. In contrast thereto, the inner intake and mowing drum moves crop in the opposite direction. The crop harvested by it is thereby conveyed first to the inside and then to the rear. Following this, the crop from both intake and mowing drums is conveyed by a deflecting conveying unit having an axis of rotation inclined slightly forward, upward, and to the rear into the intake channel of the following chopper drum. The deflecting conveying unit is preferably a slope conveyor drum that is preferably provided with conveyor disks arranged one above the other about whose circumference drivers are distributed. The use of an endless conveyor equipped with tensioning means (chains or belts) would also be conceivable as a deflecting conveying unit.
In this way, the first inner intake and mowing drum does not operate as a conveyor for the crop coming in from further outward due to its direction of rotation. The machine according to the invention has a crop flow that is considerably improved. Due to the direction of rotation of the second intake and mowing drum, the advantageous transverse conveying can be maintained with the use of transverse conveying drums, as they are known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,722,225. During reverse operation for the removal of a jam, the inner intake and mowing drums operate considerably more aggressively since they always operate along in the corresponding direction of conveying.
Preferably, the crop made available by the second intake and mowing arrangement is conveyed through a conveying channel in the direction of the intake channel of the following chopper drum. On the basis of the directions of rotation selected, this conveying channel is independent of the inner intake and mowing drums arranged ahead of it and is separated from it, for example, by a wall.
In this conveying channel, a driven transverse conveying arrangement is preferably arranged, which conveys the crop from the second intake and mowing arrangement to the deflecting conveying unit. The transverse conveying arrangement is preferably a transverse conveying drum with an approximately vertical axis of rotation, although the use of an endless conveyor equipped with tensioning means (chains or belts) would be possible. Since the transverse conveying arrangement does not transfer the flow of crop to the inner intake and mowing drums and need not convey any crop from it, it can be attached at a position in which an optimal transfer of crop from the second intake and mowing drum to the transverse conveying arrangement is possible. On the basis of the direction of rotation of the drive of the inner intake and mowing drums, according to the invention, the transfer of the crop from the transverse conveying drums to the deflecting conveying unit can be configured optimally, since in this region, no plants are coming in from the front. The deflecting conveying unit takes over the crop directly from the transverse conveying arrangement, that is, without any assistance from the inner intake and mowing drum. It would also be conceivable to integrate the transverse conveying arrangement and the deflecting conveying unit into a single conveyor. This can be configured as a single, relatively large conveying drum or as an endless conveyor. Most appropriately, the driven elements of the transverse conveying arrangement are arranged behind the conveying channel in the direction of operation. In this embodiment, the conveying channel is bordered to the front by a wall, on whose opposite side the inner intake and mowing drums are arranged. A reverse arrangement would also be conceivable in which the driven elements of the transverse conveying arrangement are located ahead of the conveying channel.
The deflecting conveying unit is also used preferably for the transport of the crop from the inner intake and mowing drums. It takes over the crop preferably downstream of the take-over region of the crop from the second intake and mowing drums (as a rule, from the transverse conveying arrangement), so that the two transfer regions to the deflecting conveying unit are independent of each other.
In order to increase the operating width of the machine, an obvious solution is to arrange an outer intake and mowing drum at the outside that is driven in such a way that the crop is conveyed first inward and then to the rear. There, the flow of the crop is combined with the flow of the crop of an intake and mowing drum arranged further inward that is driven in the opposite direction of rotation. In addition, or alternatively, the operating width can be increased by further intake and mowing drums that are offset to the outside relative to the second intake and mowing drum, and that can be driven in such a way that they convey cut harvested crop first to the outside and then to the rear. The crop is conveyed through the rear sides of the intake and mowing drums to the inside. In the valley region between intake and mowing drums driven in this way, a transverse conveying drum may be arranged.
In order to obtain enough space behind the inner intake and mowing drum in the direction of operation for the conveying channel and the associated transverse conveying arrangement, an obvious solution is to offset the inner intake and mowing drum to the front, relative to the forward direction of operation, relative to the second intake and mowing drum. Thereby, long plants can be better deposited in the center of the header which reduces the losses of ears.
Finally, it remains to be noted that the header is preferably configured symmetrically about the longitudinal center plane. Then, two inner intake and mowing drums are arranged in the center of the machine that take in plants between themselves. Plants that stand exactly between the two inner intake and mowing drums are cut and conveyed without any problem. The losses of plants and ears in the center of the machine are lower, since the two central plant rows are not deflected as strongly as in the state of the art. It should be noted that in certain embodiments, the inner intake and mowing drums may be offset to the side as far as desired relative to the longitudinal center plane of the machine, particularly if the machine is equipped with an uneven number of intake and mowing drums.